The Nightwatcher's sidekick
by CobaltAsh
Summary: Leo's gone, Don's the new friendly IT tech support guy and Mikey has his party gig. But what of Raph? Common thugs are not the only foes that New York will face in the gang's absence.
1. Late run

**The Nightwatcher's sidekick**

**Chapter 1: Late run**

Raphael growled at nothing in particular and took a swing at the old punching bag hanging in a corner of the family dojo. The bag took it like any other abuse the red wearing turtle would normally throw its way. Two more strong punches and the chain rattled. The aggressor paid it no mind and continued his assault. He grunted and delivered a roundhouse kick, making the heavily patched bag swing. He punched it again and it went higher.

A soft noise echoed in the dimly lit space and he instantly spun around, ready to attack whatever was trying to sneak behind him.

"Easy Raph. It's just me" an olive green, humanoid turtle spoke, his hands raised in defense.

"What do ya' want, brainiac?" the older turtle growled, scowling at his brother. Donatello gulped a little, lowering his hands and taking a few steps forward. Raphael snorted at his brother's shy approach. Normally he wouldn't condemn Donnie for acting like that; it was just his nature to be shy. But now, with Don being the new leader of the gang, even though he was younger and not as skilled a fighter as himself, Raph was not as willing to cut him some slack.

"I just wanted to talk" Don said in his soft voice. The red turtle snorted again turning back to his punching bag, refusing to acknowledge the tiredness in his brother's eyes.

"What's there ta' talk about" he spat, punching the old bag. He did not want to look at Donnie. He didn't usually get this mad at his younger brother. This was usually reserved for his elder, Leonardo. But good old Leo had decided to take a vacation down South and leave the family on its own. He had thought it a stupid idea in the first place, but what really ticked him off was that he had been overlooked when it came to choosing a replacement for his older brother's position.

"Raph…" he heard Don's voice calling him, but he just growled, not turning around.

"It's not fair" he angrily thought, while kicking the sack. "I'm older…" he struck the old bag "…faster…" a series of rapid punches "… and stronger" a powerful roundhouse kick made the chain rattle and the bag swing violently.

"Raph, please..." his tone was a bit harsher and Raphael growled, realizing that his brother was trying to emulate Leonardo's tone. He spun around, his anger boiling.

"What!?" he barked. If he hadn't been so angry, he would've given Donnie credit for not flinching at his outburst. Instead the younger turtle opened his mouth to continue talking. But the red warrior decided that he had had enough of his purple clad brother.

"It's been two months, Donnie! Two freakin' months!" he shouted in his brother's face. "I'm sick of this! I can't stay cooped up in here 'till old Fearless decides he's had enough vacationing and drags his shell back home!"

"Raph, Leo's training…" Don started but his older brother would have none of it.

"He's training, my shell!" he barked. "He was training just fine, right here. But nooo, it wasn't fancy enough for mighty Leo" he made a face and he could clearly see Don's disapproving look. That only made him angrier. "Well I for one don't need no Leo to lead me around" he growled, walking past his brother, towards the door.

"Raph!" he heard Don call behind him. "Where are you going?"

"Where d'you think I'm goin'?" the red turtle spat, not bothering to look behind him.

"Wait, Raph!" he heard his brother moving towards him. "You can't go topside! Master Splinter…" but the purple turtle didn't get the chance to finish his sentence.

"Tryin' ta' fill Leo's shell, Don?" he bitterly laughed, throwing his temporary leader a nasty look. He almost smirked, seeing his little brother uncomfortable. Donnie didn't like being leader any more than Raph liked being led. But the red turtle was in no mood for sympathy and he stormed out of the room.

He made a bee-line towards the exit of the lair, sparing just a few seconds to throw his youngest brother a dirty look when he asked where he was going. He slammed the door behind him and headed for the nearest manhole.

* * *

The sun had almost completely set in the bustling city. But even at night, New York was alive as ever and as ignorant as ever to what lurked in the shadows. It was unusually cold for the late summer date.

The dark figure sighed, allowing itself to relax on the roof of a well-lit building. It was a popular hotel; a familiar place. It was usually the finish point for the old ninja hide-and-seek games he used to play with his brothers.

He had run on the rooftops of New York, finally stretching his muscles in the open air. He had been terribly mad when he left the lair. He was still a bit irked at his brother's feeble attempt at bossing him around. But the anger had subsided in the cold breeze, as he concentrated on his exercises. He had scared off a few kids trying to set fire to some garbage, but otherwise things had been quiet.

The cool wind made the ends of his mask swish gently, caressing his hard shell. He was not worried that the red color would draw anybody's attention. People tented to look straight ahead; not sideways, not back and not up. It was a useful habit for him and his brothers. It made sneaking around the "City that never sleeps" much easier. Not that they needed it: they were all very good at stealth; maybe with the exception of Mikey and his big mouth.

He stared at some of the people down on the street. There were many cars stopping right in front of the hotel. The owners would get out and some hotel employee would take the car to the parking lot. There must've been some kind of party going on. He fixed his gaze on a man that was just getting out of his car. He was a tall, well-built fellow, dressed in a black suit. The turtle noticed that some of the women seemed to immediately gravitate towards him. He watched him confidently stride past the women until he passed through the main entrance.

His brown eyes then moved to a couple walking hand in hand. The woman, a red-head, was slightly leaning on the man. She was laughing, probably at something he had said. He scowled, a bitter feeling swelling within him. He remembered just how much he hated watching normal people: they were so care-free, so ignorant, so… normal. But they were also scared and hostile towards whoever wasn't just like them, even a little bit.

A low growl escaped his large mouth. They were the whole reason why his brothers and he had to constantly hide beneath the city. And he hated it. He loathed the look of pure terror that the humans had in the few occasions when they caught a glimpse of them. He was sick of their screams. Even after he would save their sorry asses from some other humans, he was still the monster.

"Bastards…" his gruff voice muttered as his eyes tore away from the laughing couple. His ears suddenly picked up a familiar sound: sirens. A police car sped up the street and he smirked, hoping that there'd be some thugs left for him. In a few seconds he was at the other edge of the rooftop and he leaped forward, smoothly landing on the neighboring building.

He tailed the police car, relishing in the feeling of the wind against his rough, green skin. He only spared a moment to feel sorry for his younger brothers, still cooped up in the lair and another to curse his elder for leaving and thus enforcing the stupid restriction on them. His thoughts quickly refocused when he saw the police car stopping in front of a jewelry store.

He leaped on a nearby building to get a good view of the scene. Two men in uniforms quickly got out of the vehicle as two other cars stopped in front to the store. The operation seemed to be going smoothly as the cops got four men out of the building. He watched as they started to cuff the thugs, but just as the smaller cop was reaching out for one of the men, the guy made his move, slamming his elbow into the officer's nose and grabbing his weapon in one fluid motion. Raph's body shot up, his hands moving to his sais.

The guy grabbed the slender cop and pointed the gun at his head, shouting something to the other cops, who already had their weapons pointed at him. Raphael used the fire-escape on the side of the building he was on to get to ground level as fast as possible. He strained his ears to hear what was going on. The thug with the gun was demanding that the others be released.

The turtle's feet hit the ground with a soft thud and he wasted no time getting to the corner of the building. "Ah… shell" he muttered, seeing the cops start to give in to the crook's demands. Two of them were already lowering their weapons. Rushing there was not an option; he didn't fancy being shot at by the people he was trying to save. Two more lowered their guns, taking a few steps back.

"Stupid" he growled as he grabbed a rock, aiming for the thug's head. He took a quick look at the last man who hadn't given in. There was both fear and determination on his face. Raphael wasted no more time and threw the rock with all his might. The projectile nailed the thug right in the head, knocking him out. The skinny cop bolted before the man's body touched the ground.

The situation seemed to naturally fix itself as the other officers quickly grabbed the men that were still conscious, shoving them in the cars. Two of them grabbed the one that Raph had knocked out. The one that had not lowered his gun was looking around, curious about who had helped them. He had seen the rock and was trying to figure out where it came from.

Raphael had to hide, to avoid being seen. He punched the wall in frustration. He hated sneaky attacks. He was a direct fighter. He also hated having to hide from the people he just saved. It just wasn't right.

He heard footsteps coming his way. He rushed to the fire escape, disappearing before the officer could reach the corner of the building. Once on the rooftop, he grabbed one of his sais, and embedded it in the concrete with a furious cry.

"Idiots" he growled, kicking the air. He tore out the sai and took off. He didn't want to be there anymore.

He wasn't really thinking where he was going. He was mad, really mad… as if Leo had just hyped up his 'leader routine'. He did a somersault and smoothly landed on top of an old building. His brain barely registered that he was getting close to Purple Dragon territory. His legs moved, almost on their own, but stopped as his ears picked out something out of place.

"No…" it was a soft voice. He frowned, trying to identify to source. He picked up a coarse laugh. "Oh yes, doll". That was all he needed to hear and his anger quickly redirected. In less than 5 seconds he was looking down at a small, brunette girl cowering from five guys that looked like they were Purple Dragons.

A large guy with purple dyed hair moved towards the girl, grabbing her small arm, yanking her to him. Her scream covered the sound of Raphael's landing. She managed to kick the purple haired man in the shin, which made him loosen his grip enough for her to pull away. Her victory was short lived, however, when a bald guy grabbed her from behind. She screamed and thrashed in his arms, trying hard to hit him anywhere.

"Let me go!" the girl yelled as the purple haired man approached her. But the guy never made it to her, because a large, green figure crashed into him, sending him flying in a bunch dumpsters. Weapons suddenly appeared in all hands. The girl screamed as a blade was pressed against her neck while the bald guy's grip tightened. She watched as the new figure grabbed his attacker's chain and yanked it from his hands.

"Watch out!" she yelled, seeing a man with a bat approach him from behind. "Aaaa!" she screamed when her captor pressed the blade harder to her neck, drawing blood.

Raphael jumped out of the way, quickly evading the other thugs, to get behind the one holding the girl. Before he had time to react, the turtle delivered a powerful blow to his back, knocking him out. He held the guys body just enough so the girl could escape. She crawled away, shaking violently.

"Where ya' goin, doll?" a rough voice said and she screamed as a man wielding a chain stalked towards her. She pulled herself backwards, her small hands searching the ground for anything that could help her. The body of the guy who had held her fell right beside her. She sobbed, terrified.

Raphael jumped in front of her, his sais ready. But the faint light and the proximity made his figure clear to the girl and she screamed, her eyes wide with fear. He turned his head to her and felt anger swelling up in his chest. That fear again.

Suddenly, pain exploded in his head and he lost balance. He thought, for a moment, that his body would give in to the force of the blow. His brain vaguely registered the guy holding the chain that hit him. He dodged a baseball bat that was coming his way, but he couldn't see the chain lashing out at him again.

The chain connected to his legs, making him yell in surprise and pain. He lost his footing and felt a hard, metal object connecting to his head again. This time he fell, barely registering his own scream. He had dropped one of his sais.

His brown eyes searched his surroundings. His vision was blurred, probably from the two hard blows his head took. He could see four large figures advancing his way. He could make out the one with the chain. There was no sign of the girl.

"Let's teach Mr. Freakshow here a lesson, boys!" a rough voice spoke. It was quickly followed by approving laughter. Raphael growled, knowing that he'd have some nasty bruises in the morning.


	2. Aliens and Pancakes

**The Nightwatcher's sidekick**

**Chapter 2: Aliens and pancakes**

"No… no… no…" she repeated the word as a mantra in her head, her body stiff and her eyes wide. She could feel the cold blade pressed against her throat. She tried to ignore the warm, wet tickle on her skin.

The guy trying to help her had dodged the attack and now he was out of her view. She could see the other thugs turning right and she assumed that was where the guy had gone. She felt her mind and body completely frozen, but she wasn't sure that was so because she was so terrified or because the blade had cut deep enough to reach one of her major arteries and she was bleeding out without even being aware of it.

Suddenly the grip loosened and she stumbled away without even thinking of it. She fell, but she didn't bother looking around while she crawled away.

"Where ya' goin', doll?" a rough voice rang in her ears and her blood went cold the moment her eyes landed on a large man wielding a big, rusty chain. Her mind didn't register her own scream as she used all the strength she could muster to push herself backwards, not realizing she was going right back where she came from.

Something fell next to her with a loud thud. Her eyes darted to it only for a second and this time she could hear the sound coming out of her own mouth. She tried to move away, but the sound of her protector landing in front of her drew her attention.

Her dark eyes widened as she took in the hard, brown shell and green skin of the creature standing in front of her. She could make out two long spikes protruding from its balled fists. It turned its head towards her and she instinctively cowered away. Its face looked angry.

A chain hit the side of creature's head. The sound was enough to pull the girl out of her terror induced trance and she bolted away from her attackers and from her protector. She rounded the corner, placing her hand on her neck. The first comforting thought filled her head when she realized that her wound was superficial. She tripped, almost falling off her feet. She managed to catch herself at the last moment.

"Uuuggh" the sound was of pain and surprise and the girl stopped in her tracks, knowing that it was the green creature that made that sound. She looked right in front of her, then back to the dark alley. She bit her lips. She knew the creature was outnumbered and hurt. Her feet moved, carrying her back from where she came from.

Her dark eyes quickly scanned the scene. The creature was pinned down, with four men looming over it. She heard one of them speak, but her brain didn't register his words. Instead, she grabbed the lid off a trash bin firmly, with both hands, and moved towards the four men. She could feel her whole body trembling as she positioned herself right behind a man who was preparing to strike the green creature with a bat. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tightly as she swung her "weapon" as hard as she could.

The sound of metal connecting to flesh was deafening to her. She could feel the large body tumbling to the ground. She almost fell over, because of the momentum. When her eyes opened she was met by the sight of a purple haired man, preparing to swing a chain at her. Before she could blink, a green figure tackled him, sending them both to the ground.

A big man with a pipe went after the two wrestling figures, while a thinner guy holding a switchable blade stalked towards her. She raised the metal lid in front of her, like a shield. Her eyes darted around, looking for a way out. The blade flew towards her and she struck out her "shield". The sharp "clang" that told her the knife had been blocked. Her victory was short lived, however, when something hit her legs and her body fell to the ground, like a rag doll.

Her dark, terrified eyes watched as his mouth twisted in a grin. Her throat was dry. But the man didn't get the opportunity to take another step closer to her. A powerful roundhouse kick sent him flying in some dumpsters. By the sound he made, he was probably out cold.

The girl cautiously looked up at her savior. She was still holding her shield close to her body. "He looks like… a turtle" she thought, taking a close look at the tall figure. There was a mix of anger and awe on his face. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. She wondered what she should say, or if she should say anything at all.

Suddenly she realized that her position must've looked excessively defensive and she dropped the lid. She scrambled to her feet, almost falling over twice. She noticed that he had a very strange look on his face and she gulped.

"Thank you" she said, looking him straight in the eyes. She noticed they were a golden-brown color. She also noticed that they widened slightly at her words. His large mouth opened and then closed. He seemed surprised.

"Um… you're welcome" he mumbled, avoiding her eyes. He turned to leave, but a sudden wave of dizziness hit him and he felt his body start falling.

"Be careful" her soft voice rang in his ears and he felt his body being supported by something small. She silently urged him to sit and he did not argue. His head was killing him, probably from the two strong blows he got there. Once he was on the ground, the girl moved directly in front of him, placing her small hands on each side of his head.

He made no move to stop her when she started to gently turn his head so she could get a better angle to see the injuries. Instead he studied her face. It was dirty from falling on the ground and there was a small cut on her left cheek. Almost half of her neck was stained red. Her black, messy hair and large, dark eyes gave her a rather scared appearance, even though her actions told otherwise. She looked completely concentrated on what she was doing.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked him, her eyes fixed on the right side of his head, where her fingers were probing a rather large bruise. He blinked at her, not knowing why she would be asking that. Her dark eyes turned to his face and she spoke again. "Can you remember where you are?"

Raph suddenly remembered Donnie asking them stupid questions like that when they hurt their heads; something about brain injury.

"Yeah… New York… Purple Dragon territory" he replied. His voice sounded very hoarse. She nodded and she dug into her bag, fishing out something that looked like a cellphone. A few alarm bells went off instantly in the turtle's head.

"I'm going to use the flashlight on this to see how your eyes respond to light, ok?" she asked. Raph eyed her for a moment. She could be very well using that thing to take a photo of him to show other people, so they won't say she's crazy when she tells them. But something in his gut told him that wasn't the case. He nodded slowly and the girl turned on the light. It was very bright and it hurt his eyes. He turned his head away. The light went out and he turned to her again.

"Is your vision blurry?" she asked.

"Now it is" he answered after blinking a few times. He felt her fingers run over one of the bruises on his head.

"You might have a concussion" she said, biting her lip. He frowned, knowing that meant he'd have to involve Donnie. He didn't want to have anything to do with his younger brother at the moment.

"You could come with me… to my place." His head snapped towards her at her words. "I could do something about it…" she said, looking directly into his eyes, "And about all the other injuries" she continued, her eyes quickly sweeping over his body.

Raphael knew what his older brother would say: "It's too dangerous. You don't know her" his mouth twitched just a little bit. To hell with Leo and what he'd think.

"Yeah, thanks" he answered and she smiled. She helped him to his feet.

"It's not far. And there's a shortcut" she smiled at him. "Oh! Wait a bit" she exclaimed and he watched her curiously as she ran to a corner of the alley, picked something up and ran back to him. She offered him the item; it was his sai.

"Thanks" he smiled at her, placing the weapon in its place. She returned the smile.

"Come on! This way" she said, leading him through the allies.

About 15 minutes later, Raphael was siting in the girl's bathroom with an icepack on his head. She was currently cleaning a particularly nasty cut on his forearm. There was an awkward silence. Both were quietly stealing glances at each other, trying to open a conversation. They were painfully aware of the fact that they didn't even know each other's names.

The brunette girl bit her lip and looked at her savior again. This time she caught his eyes on her, but he didn't look away.

"Um…. I'm… I'm sorry…" she started, looking shyly at him. Somehow, he knew that she wasn't apologizing for the stinging sensation in his arm. "For running away…" she continued. She was biting her lips. "I'm sorry, but getting attacked by armed goons is not a daily occurrence for me." She smiled a bit. "Not to mention getting rescued by an alien. Thank you, again"

"Alien?" the turtle asked, his brow raised.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't know what else to call you. That's what we call people that aren't from Earth. I didn't mean it as an offence! I'm really sorry." she was talking really fast. He raised his hand to stop the torrent of apologies coming out her mouth. She stopped talking and bit her lip.

"I'm not from outta' space" he said. She blinked her dark eyes, and he could practically read the question plastered all over her face. However, he wasn't really sure if she should know his story. "Yeah… I'm kind of a local' grown freak". He didn't know why he had said that. He hated being called a freak. So why was he calling himself one?

"You're not a freak!" she squealed, grabbing his free hand with both her hands. Her lips remained parted but she said nothing else. He thought she looked scared. Or maybe it was just her eyes being so large in comparison to the rest of her features. She bit her lip again.

"I'm Saima" she spoke, her dark eyes never leaving his. He was not expecting that.

"Raphael…" he said, not really knowing what else to say. She smiled at him.

"You have an angel's name" her smile was shy, but still present. He just stared at her. "The archangel…" she explained. He blinked a few times, not really knowing what to say. She bit her lips again. He could feel the awkward silence weighting down on him.

"I… should go…" he said, looking out the window. It was dark outside. Her bathroom window showed no light whatsoever. He could feel her fingers tighten slightly on his large hand. He looked back at her. She had a strange look in her eyes.

"Well… ok…" she said softly "… but I was going to make pancakes... and if you want some…" he identified the look as hopeful. He suddenly realized that she actually wanted him to stay. He smiled.

"Well… can't say no to pancakes" he grinned. Saima smiled at him.


	3. New tricks

**The Nightwatcher's sidekick**

**Chapter 3: New tricks**

It was cold; almost annoyingly so. The sea breeze did little to help. At times like these he cursed the fact that he was cold blooded. It had been three days since his fight with Donatello. During this time he had not really spoken to his brother. Not that his young leader hadn't tried to talk to him. He did. But Raphael was in no mood to listen to the brainy turtle try to pull off the Leo act.

He had been going out every night, beating up bad guys and sleeping for most of the day. When he wasn't asleep, he was punching his bag, but not as furiously as he had been the day he first went topside. He knew that things would get complicated pretty soon. He had to use all of his ninja skills earlier to evade his father and teacher. Storming out on Donnie was one thing, but Splinter was a completely different league.

Thus, today he had gone out earlier than usual. The sun hadn't set yet and even he knew that it was dangerous to be running around during the day. He could still remember the angry anti-alien mobs after the Triceraton invasion. He did not want that particular experience again.

He had thought of visiting the girl he had met three days back. "Saima" he remembered her name. He had spent most of that night in her living room. Strangely, they had spent most of the night talking, an activity that Raph had never been particularly fond of. But he had enjoyed his time with her.

He hadn't told her much about himself. He had said that he was trained as a ninja by his father and that he had brothers. He knew that she had been curious about his family, but she didn't ask and he was comfortable not spilling everything yet. It felt good not having to explain himself.

On the other hand, he had learnt that she had been in New York for only one week when he met her. She was a freshman at NYU and her classes would be starting shortly. She was studying to be a vet. He also knew that her father was dead and that he had been a Marine. He didn't ask anything about her mother.

She had a huge cat named Nola. Saima had explained that Nola was a Maine Coon and that it was normal for her to be that big. He still had doubts about that: the furry creature was somewhere around a foot tall and 30 inches long. His brother's cat, Clunk, was barely half that size! They actually spent a big part of the night talking about cats. The strangest part was that he remembered enjoying it. Or maybe it had just been the pancakes.

He hadn't seen Saima since that night. When he came out of the manhole earlier, he had decided that he'd try kill some time at her place, but the girl wasn't home. Instead, he had a staring match with Nola, who was casually sitting on the windowsill.

Now the sun had completely set and he found himself at the docks. He had noticed that there were fewer crooks than he remembered from the time he was going on patrol with his brothers. But tonight, thug central seemed to have moved to New York Bay.

Raphael watched from a relatively safe distance as some men bearing Purple Dragon tattoos were handled a bunch of heavy looking crates. There were a lot of goons around. It looked like a big operation.

"Watch it, maggots" a big guy with a dragon tattoo on his face yelled at two men who had nearly dropped a crate. "Those are worth more than you see in a year!" he added, looking angry.

"Valuable, eh?" Raph thought, quietly making his way towards the men. They were loading the crates in a big truck. The vehicle was guarded by ten guys with guns. "Heavy guard" the turtle smirked, knowing that he wouldn't be using stealth for this one. And that was fine by him. He preferred direct fights. He stalked over to the truck, careful not to be noticed before he made his move. He positioned himself behind one of the guys.

"Boo" he hissed and the man turned around surprised. He didn't have time to do anything, however, because the turtle quickly knocked him out with a powerful punch. This drew the attention of the other men and Raph had to move quickly to avoid the bullets flying his way.

"It's one of those turtle freaks!" one guy screamed and Raphael growled at the name. He disappeared behind some crates and ambushed the two men that were still holding the large wooden box. It hit the ground and some bullets struck it, missing their target.

"Watch the stuff, you bozos!" the man with the tattooed face screamed, revealing a strange looking gun. Raphael used his sais to disarm one of his foes and jumped towards the water. He did a backflip, dodging a light blue ray that shot out of leader's gun. He landed on the edge of the dock and took two steps to his right, avoiding a few more bullets. He had not yet admitted to himself that he was in a pretty tight spot, but he was getting there.

He saw the leader aiming his gun. He wasn't quick enough to avoid the shot entirely and the ray touched his arm. He screamed in pain and lost his footing, falling in the water. The armed goons ran to the edge and shot a few rounds in the water.

"Quit it, maggots! We got to get this stuff back to the boss" the man with the tattoo on his face screamed. The others complied. A few minutes later, the truck was speeding off.

Raphael surfaced as the vehicle was leaving. He coughed and swam to shore, using only one of his arms. The other one felt like it was on fire. He was breathing heavily when reached his destination. He inspected his injured arm. Its color was darker, but touching it didn't seem to make the pain increase.

He knew he was in no shape to follow the truck, not to mention fight more of the goons. He groaned, thinking that he should get Donnie to take a look at his arm. He did not want to get his brothers involved; especially since it would mean getting his father involved. But he suddenly remembered that Don was not the only doctor he knew anymore. Smiling, he quickly went back into town, hoping that Saima had returned home.

Saima gave a satisfied sigh as she took a step back, admiring her good work. The bookcase in her bedroom was finally in order. It had been hard to find a place for every book she had brought from home and still leave space for all the textbooks she'd be getting once the school year started.

"Meow" she heard behind her and turned to see her old cat standing in the doorway, looking at her with large, green eyes. Nola was her gentle giant and at her 12 years, she was still pretty active. The cat meowed again.

"What is it, sweetheart?" the girl asked, bending down to pet the fluffy, calico fur. Nola meowed and ran into the living room. Saima followed her, curious. Upon entering, she was met by the sight of a large turtle creature standing outside her window.

"Raphael!" she exclaimed, running to open the window. After three days with no sign of life, the girl wasn't sure if she'd ever see him again. "Hello" she greeted, as she opened the window wide enough for him to climb in. Her eyes widened when they landed on his arm.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, moving closer to his injured arm. "What happened?" she asked, guiding him to the couch.

"Got shot" he spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Shot? This doesn't look like a gun wound."

" 'twas some kind of ray gun" he mumbled. The pain had started to subside, but now his arm was numb. Saima placed her hands on it, probing the dark colored skin.

"Strange…" she mumbled "… it looks like frostbite" she said, feeling the waxy texture. "Stay here."

" 'm not goin' anywhere" Raph replied, trying to move his arm.

She came back quickly, with what looked like a wet towel. She wrapped the material around his arm. It was warm. He gave her a questioning look.

"I'm pretty sure that's at least second degree frostbite, so I'm going to warm it up." She smiled at him and he nodded, letting her work.

"So… what happened?" Saima asked after she was done.

"Ah… ran into some goons at the docks… Purple Dragons. They were loadin' some crates into a truck." He said, squeezing his injured arm a little bit. It felt better.

"And they had ray guns?" the girl asked, curious.

"One of 'em" the turtle explained.

"Well… you're going to have to keep that on for a while. If you're lucky, the freeze isn't deep and the arm will only be a bit painful and itchy." Saima said, motioning to the wet towel. "I'll change it when it gets cold." Raphael nodded.

"Thanks" he said and she smiled at him.

"You're welcome" she answered. She reached for the TV remote, turning it on. Nola made her way through the living room. She jumped on the couch, rubbing her head against Saima for a few seconds then moved on to the turtle. She rubbed her head against his good arm and when he stroke her fur she climbed in his lap, making herself comfortable.

"Nola likes you" Saima told Raphael, as she put on a news channel.

"Well, she's not so bad herself" he smiled at the big cat, scratching her behind the ears. "even if she is so huge" he continued, earning a giggle from Saima and something that sounded like a groan from the creature in his lap.

"Hey, you are!" the turtle told the cat. Nola's tail left its spot and hit him on the arm. Raph gave her an amused look.

"Don't listen to him, sweetheart." the girl spoke, reaching out to scratch the cat under her chin. "You're perfect just the way you are"

Nola purred at her mistress' touch. She raised her body a little bit and slapped the mutant turtle over the face with her fluffy tail.

"Hey! A-coo!" he sneezed. "What the shell, cat?" Raphael protested. Nola continued to purr, sitting back down in his lap, like nothing had happened. Saima was giggling. She shot him a look that was half apologizing and half amused.

"I'm going to change that towel" she said, feeling that the one he had on was getting pretty cold. She sprinted out of the room before he could complain about her laughing at him earlier. He huffed, settling to watching the news. A blonde woman was speaking of a string of robberies at high-security facilities.

"Ok, now I want you to hold your arm out." Saima said, entering the living room with another hot towel. Raph obliged, still half listening to the TV.

"Wow, you heal fast" the girl said and he turned to see that his arm was already going back to its original, dark green color. There were a few blisters, but they didn't seem very bad. He moved the arm a little bit, noting that it felt a lot better. Saima inspected the limb before wrapping it in the warm cloth.

"This kind of thing usually takes about a month to heal" she told him. She was obviously fascinated and the question that she had wanted to ask when she first met him was again written all over her face. Raphael considered telling her, but something caught his attention.

"It is confirmed that the points of entry as well as the vaults in two different locations have been submitted to extremely low temperatures…" the blonde lady said.

"Low temperature…" the turtle repeated. Saima gave him a questioning look. "The Purple Dragons have e freeze gun" he said.

"You think they're using it to break in and steal things?" the girl asked, her eyes wide in awe.

"I can't think of anyone else who'd do it" he mumbled, pushing himself off the couch. Nola jumped off his lap, obviously displeased with the loss of her spot.

"Wait, you're not thinking about going to them, are you?" she asked, worried.

"Of course I am. It's not like the police are going to figure it out anytime soon" he said, unwrapping his arm.

"But you're hurt!" the girl protested.

"I'm fine" he answered, flexing his arm. It still hurt and it was kind of itchy, but he was sure he'd be able to take the Dragons anyway. "They're probably at the rundown factory at the edge of the city. That's where they usually are" he said to himself.

"Raphael… at least wait until your arm's better" her soft voice spoke.

"It's ok. Thanks for the help" he gave her a smile. He headed towards the window.

"Be careful" she told him and he nodded her way. Then he was gone.

"Meow?" Nola gave her mistress a questioning look.

"He's hurt, Nola. And there are a lot of bad guys where he's going."

"Meow"

"I'm worried too, sweetheart" the girl answered. The cat sat on her hind-legs, and watched the brunette girl. She meowed again.

"It's what daddy would do" Saima whispered. She then rushed to her room emerging a few minutes later dressed in a pair of black pants and a black long sleeved shirt. She had a small backpack hanging over her shoulder. She rushed out of her home, her large eyes not looking half as confident as her stride.

"You be good, Nola, ok?" she called to her cat, before closing the door.


	4. Old habbits

**The Nightwatcher's sidekick**

**Chapter 4: Old habbits**

Raphael smirked as he scrutinized the old building. He had been there before with his brothers. It wasn't exactly the Purple Dragons' headquarters, but they still used it, mostly for initiations and cage fights. He knew that they also stored some of their stuff there. He remembered his friend, Casey, being held there a few years back, when he was captured by the Dragons.

He left his hiding place and silently moved towards the building. He still remembered a few easy ways in. There was a bit of movement around: about half a dozen men were outside, hanging out, by the looks of it. He moved to the side of the building, looking for a particular window that he knew would lead to blind spot in their surveillance system.

"Old Donnie can find the best ways in" the turtle thought, skillfully climbing to the third floor. He quickly took back that compliment to his brother after their recent fight came back to mind. "Stupid…" he thought as he climbed in the window. He flinched when the windowsill creaked. He took a quick look around, finding he was alone in the room.

He was in an old office that looked like no one had been into for a very long time. He cautiously moved to the door, his steps bringing up small clouds of dust. He pressed his ear to the door and listened. There was someone outside. He could hear talking, though he couldn't make out the words. This was usually the time when Don would be taking out some helpful gadget from his bag of tricks. Raphael shoved that thought at the back of his mind.

"I don't need 'am" he told himself. The voices were moving further from the door. He listened to a coarse laugh and retreating footsteps. His large hand reached for the dusty doorknob, gripping it when he could no longer hear anyone. He turned the knob slowly, grimacing at the rusty sound it caused. He scowled at it, knowing that the door would be just as bad.

Only a short sound could be heard as the turtle's body quickly passed through the old door. "Man, I love bein' a ninja" he thought and smirked. He made his way across the corridor in the direction that the voices had disappeared. As he reached the end he tensed. He could hear people approaching.

Two men bearing Purple Dragons tattoos appeared. They were laughing loudly about something. They didn't turn in Raph's direction and instead continued walking forward. One of them, with blue dyed hair, said something about watching the cage matches and the other agreed.

Raphael waited for about a minute when he could no longer hear their voices. Then he moved down the corridor, careful to avoid any of the building's usual residents.

It did not take him long to reach a large room that his mind immediately labeled as the 'computer room'. It was Donatello's favorite place and his least favorite. He groaned, knowing that whatever the Purple Dragons were up to was probably stashed away in one of these machines and he had no idea how to gain access to it. He found himself cursing his brother's stubbornness once more.

His eyes wondered to a few large monitors that he identified as surveillance screens. There were a few showing the cage fights he had heard about, some of the outside of the building and many more that showed empty corridors and closed doors. However, very few of these resembled the part of the building that he had come from. These seemed to have been recently renovated and though they did not stray much from the original architecture, the turtle could tell the security in the area was way above what he had seen so far.

"Heh… wonder what's cookin' there…" Raphael smirked, knowing that was where he had to go. All he needed now was an exact location.

"Good one t'night" a gruff voice echoed in the hallway, making Raph's head snap towards its source. He could not yet see the owner of the voice.

"Yeah! Da' boss got that green freak good" another voice answered the first one. A third released a guttural laugh.

Safely hidden behind a large, buzzing rack packed with some kind of computers, the ninja turtle growled at the name and flexed his injured arm. It still hurt, despite what he had told Saima. His hand reached for his weapons as he observed three men walk into the room.

The one still laughing was the biggest of them. He had a big belly and strong, buff arms. There was a pinkish hue to his otherwise pale cheeks, signaling that the alcohol from the almost empty bottle in his large hand was taking its tool. A lean, black man was walking beside him, playing with a pocket knife. The third kept adjusting a pair of huge, dirty goggles on his forehead. They kept falling off, allowing the red, messy mop on his head to fall forward and tickle his square face. Raphael recognized them form earlier at the docks and smirked, thinking how easy it would be to take the three clowns out. The red headed one had a black eye that the turtle knew he had caused.

"Hey, when d'ya' think we'll make another hit?" the large one spoke, his voice heavy with all the alcohol he had ingested. "I likesd the shinnies" he laughed, leaning on a wall and raising his bottle. The other two grinned at their drunk friend.

"Yeah… you gotta' love the rocks" the black one said, juggling with his small weapon.

"As soon as the genius in da' basement's ready, we'll go out huntin' again" the red head smirked, his right fist punching his left palm.

"Always the basement" the Raphael thought, his body moving in a better angle, ready to pounce on his enemies.

"'Till then, we can always bag ourselves some more turtles" the black guy laughed, stabbing the air with his knife.

"Yeah… l'ts make some *hic* turtle soup" the large one said right before releasing a loud belch. The other two laughed and the big one slapped his belly, the sound showing just how bloated he was.

"How 'bout a knuckle sandwich first?" Raphael's voice boomed in the large room. A moment later the red head's body hit the ground, a few feet away from where he was previously standing with blood trickling out of his nose and mouth. "It's on the house." The turtle smirked, his fist still clenched and a sai in his other hand. His brown eyes dared the other men to make a move against him.

The black guy took a step back and raised his knife in front of him in what he hoped was a threatening manner. The large one took a few drunken steps forward, eyeing the ninja with hate and confusion.

Raphael chucked at the pathetic display and charged for the black man. His enemy tried to strike him but the turtle was quicker, catching his wrist in an iron grip and twisting it until the guy dropped his weapon while screaming in pain. The turtle smirked and shoved the black guy into his still standing friend, making them both tumble to the ground.

The two men struggled to get back to their feet, both swearing and tripping on each other's limbs. The ninja crossed his arms, looking amused at the wiggling pile of flesh in front of him.

"Get off Tuck!" the big guy screamed at his friend, swinging the arm that was still holding the bottle. With a low thud the hard object connected to the black man's head and he fell limp over the other one's gut. The unintentional aggressor blinked a few times, confusion written all over his face. A loud laugh made his head turn and his eyes landed on the laughing turtle. His mouth opened and closed a few times, the alcohol still clouding his head. A lopsided grin spread on his face while his brain tried to figure out what was so funny. The ninja wasn't laughing anymore, but his expression still showed his amusement.

"Nightie night!" Raphael chuckled before swiftly delivering a powerful punch to his jaw, effectively knocking him out. He shook his head, his grin still firmly placed on his face. "Idiot" he mumbled, his eyes scanning for a quick way to his new destination: the basement.

His brown eyes spotted a pair of metal doors that resembled an elevator. He sprinted towards it, prying them open. He swore under his breath as the pain in his injured arm flared. His eyes looked down the hollow space behind the doors, satisfied that he had found what he was looking for. He rubbed his sore arm and inspected the elevator. Its car seemed to be a few floors up, which made it easy for him to reach his destination.

Flexing his arm again, to make sure that it was ok for effort, he jumped, grabbing the cable and sliding down towards the basement. In a matter of seconds, his feet hit the concrete surface with a thud.

He used his sais to pry the doors open. These seemed a bit heavier than the ones upstairs. He groaned at the pain in his arm, but didn't stop. When there was finally enough space for him to pass through he quickly stepped into the well illuminated hallway. His brain registered his new, clean surroundings: the walls were painted white and aside from a few metal bumps that he figured were the cameras, the place was completely empty.

"Aah shell…" he swore as a familiar sound filled his ears. He jumped away right before the beam that he heard loading hit the spot where he had been standing. It left fine layer of ice formed on the ground and on the bottom of the elevator doors. His eyes scanned the walls, trying to determine where the shot came from, but he had to move again as another ice-beam came his way.

"I hate defensive systems" he grumbled as he ran in zigzag across the hallway, avoiding the ice attacks. The tuned a corner and felt one hit right behind him. The ground froze and he slipped, his body hitting a glass surface. He tuned his head to see a room behind the glass, with what looked like a control panel behind the window.

He didn't have time to observe, however as another beam sped his way, freezing part of the glass in his place. Figuring that he'd be able to shut down the defenses from the room, he hit the glass with his weapons, trying to break it.

"Damn" he swore, when the glass resisted his attack and he had to move again to avoid getting iced. He steadied himself and then charged for the frozen part of the glass. But before he could reach his target an ice beam hit right in front of him, freezing the ground and making him slip. He caught himself before he hit the ground, yet his eyes still widened in panic when the sound of a loading blast hit his ears without giving him any clue regarding where it was coming from.

But the blast never came. In its place a defusing sound filled his ears and he raised his head to see a small person at the control panel, waving at him. It looked like it was a girl, dressed completely in black, with a black cloth mask on her face. She reached down and the window moved upwards, allowing him access into the room. He jumped inside, cautiously eyeing the girl.

"Hey… Raph" she greeted him shyly, reaching for a black backpack on the floor.

"Saima?" he said, shocked to hear the girl's voice.

"Yeah" she answered.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, still shocked that she had probably saved his shell earlier.

"I came to help you." She stated. "I wasn't going to let you go running around in some thug base with that bad arm." He opened him moth to say something but she quickly grabbed said arm and probing it. He flinched when her fingers put pressure on certain spots.

"You've strained it" she told him, giving him an accusing look. Raphael suddenly found himself between being annoyed and embarrassed and all he could bring himself to do was to look away. Her disapproval weighted over him just like Master Splinter's upset looks would.

"How d'you even get in?" he asked, looking around the room.

"The kennels" she answered simply, fishing a tube out of her bag and squishing part of its contents on his arm. It felt cold and the turtle shuddered.

"Kennels …?" Raphael asked, confused, while she spread the cream all over his injured arm. "This place has dogs?" he didn't remember that.

"Yep" she told him, taking out a roll of gauze and starting to wrap his arm. He looked at her like she had just grown an extra arm. His mouth opened and closed, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that a skinny runt who was shaking like a leaf in front of a few Purple Dragons only a three days ago, had now broken into one of their hideouts. Not only that, but she seemed to have done it a lot more efficiently than he had.

"Um… Raph?" her soft voice broke him out of his thoughts and he noticed that he was waving her hand in front of his eyes. "You ok?"

"Wha- ? No… no!" he said, looking from her masked face to his bandaged arm and then back. "How d'you get here without beein' seen?" he asked, deciding that was more important than why she was wearing an old T-shirt with holes on her head. It looked like a sad attempt at his old childhood mask.

"I told you, I snuck in through the kennels" she said. "Fighting dogs only attack other animals, not humans" she explained, before he could ask his question. "Then I found an air vent, climbed through and I came out in the first empty room I could find" she smiled and him. His eyes instantly darted to a decent sized hole in the wall and he noticed the white grid that had been covering it lying discarded on the floor. It would have been a tight squeeze for him, but Saima's lithe frame was perfect to go through.

"Aah… shell!" he cursed, his eyes instantly picking up the soft, blinking light on the side of the exposed air vent: it was a silent alarm. "Come on! We have to move!" he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her to what looked like a door.

"Ouch! Hey, what gives?" she squealed, limping behind him, almost tripping over her own feet.

"There's an alarm" he said, without turning to her. Only when she half crashed into his side did he look at his companion. "What's up with you?" he asked, giving her a confused look as she rubbed her back.

"That air vent wasn't a walk in the park, you know" she answered, stretching her back and then rubbing the side of her leg. Those words immediately translated as: "I stumbled and fell my entire way here and it was pure luck that I crashed into this particular room" to Raphael. A quick look at the place where the white grid was discarded and he was pretty sure that was what happened. Suddenly, his entrance in the building didn't seem half bad. He smirked, but the girl was too busy rubbing her sore spots to notice.

"There sure is… look, there's ice!" the two heard fait voices coming towards them. Thinking quickly, Raphael realized that he wouldn't be able to fight the guards with an injured Saima around. He gritted his teeth, cursing his luck.

His eyes scanned the room for anything remotely useful. He was rewarded with the sight of a door with a 'Keep Out' sign on it. It would make a good hiding place for his new friend, while he dispatched whatever security was coming their way.

"In here!" the turtle said, kicking the door open and ushering Saima inside. The girls almost tripped over her own feet as he closed the door and turned to the entrance. Not two seconds later, a tall man appeared in front of him. He was wearing what looked like a high-tech, bullet-proof vest. He had a gun in his hands which reminded Raphael of the one the guy at the docks used to freeze his arm.

"Wha-?" the man opened his large mouth, obviously confused by his green opponent. A moment later another guy, holding the same type of weaponry came into view. He was bulkier than the first and his bald head displayed a purple dragon tattoo.

"It's one of those turtle freaks!" the second guy yelled, pointing his gun at Raph.

"Time to dance, guys!" the turtle smirked, drawing his sais and jumping out of the way of the first shot. He charged his assailant, slamming his foot into his chest full force. The bald man hit the wall and a freeze blast that had just missed Raph immobilized his arm. He was out cold.

"Nice one" the red clad turtle smirked, turning his head to the source of the blast. There were three more thugs running towards him. "Piece of cake" he thought, dodging a few shots.

"Get him!" an Asian looking guy shouted.

"Get the defenses!" shouted a man with a ponytail.

"Oh, no you don't!" the turtle muttered, grabbing one of the thugs by the collar and throwing him towards the guy who was going for the control panel. He didn't have time to see if he had hit his target, because he was forced to avoid a few more blasts from the Purple Dragons.

"He He! Nice try, shell for brains!" he said, punching a blue haired goon in the face. "Heh" he smirked, satisfied with himself. But his victory was short-lived, because only a few seconds later a high pitched sound filled his ears. His head instantly turned to the control panel, where a pretty skinny guy stood, grinning at the ninja turtle.

"Aaah shell… " he cursed, avoiding a blast from an unidentified source and nearly losing his footing when the floor froze under his feet.

* * *

"Ouch!" Saima grunted, extending her arm forwards, hoping to catch something before she collided with the ground. Fortunately for her, she did find something solid enough to sustain her.

"Phew" she sighed, pulling herself together. A loud humming sound filled her ears and she could see a lot of expensive looking machinery stacked all over the room. It was pretty dark, the only light coming from a few of the machines. Even over the monotone sound, she could still hear the fighting outside.

She took a few steps inside, probing whatever she found with her hands. "Generators…" she thought, squinting in the dim light at the contraptions in front of her. "At least that's how it looks…" she whispered, staring at something that looked like blue lightning in a glass container.

Suddenly her attention was caught by a window at the far side of the room. She headed towards it, momentarily forgetting about her surroundings. She instantly regretted it as her feet tripped over some wires and she fell on some thick cables.

"Oooow" she grunted. "Ow Ow Ow ow" she muttered, dragging herself to her feet. "I don't like this place… Ouch" she complained using the humming generator as support to guide herself to the window. Once there, she leaned on the glass, looking through it.

"Uh-oh…" she thought, peering in a large room littered with computers and what looked like miniature versions of the machines in the room she was in. A man in a white lab coat was hunched over a table, but she couldn't see what he was doing.

She strained her eyes, pressing her forehead and nose to the glass.

"Yikes!" she squealed when the man abruptly stood from his table. She pushed herself from the window just in time to avoid being seen. She stood next to the window, her hands firmly pressed over her mouth. For a while, all she could hear was her own heart beating in her ears. Gradually she became aware of the monotone humming of the generator and the faint fighting sounds from the next room.

She looked through the window again. The man was now standing at the far side of his large room, facing a solid looking block of metal. He had what looked like a gun and her mind instantly wondered to Raphael's story about the ray gun. He pointed his weapon at the block and fired. A moment later, the block looked completely frozen. The man brought his hand through his dirty blonde hair and then grabbed the goggles that rested on his forehead. He swung his arm and threw his improvised projectile at the frozen block.

Saima gulped when she saw the block crack when the goggles hit it. His expression became extremely satisfied. A large grin spread over his features and his lips moved. The girl couldn't hear him, however. A moment later he burst into what looked like maniacal laughter.

"Uh-oh… I think I just found the mad scientist" Saima whispered, backing away from the window. "Raphael…?" she said, hoping that the turtle could just appear with a solution. She was starting to seriously doubt her decision to follow her new friend to this shady place.

"Now what?" she asked no one in particular, biting her lip. She could still hear fighting outside. She felt completely helpless in the dimly lit room.

"Wait a bit…" she spoke, "… I'm in the generator room" she said, touching one of the humming machines. She smiled.

"Who said that comic books and cartoons don't teach you anything?" she giggled, searching for the cables she had fallen over earlier. She quickly spotted them and she moved closer to them. "Now… where's the power plug for this thing?" she grinned, following the cables with her hands.

* * *

"Ugh!" Raph grunted, as he almost slipped on the icy floor. He was not having fun. He had managed to take out two more of the guys, but there were still two left: the Asian guy and a short, buff man whose hair was shaved on half of his head.

But the two were far from Raph's biggest problem. The automatic defenses were shooting freeze rays at him from all sides and he could hardly locate the sources. So far, he had only been able to find one of them and take it out.

"Damn!" he cursed, when a blast stopped him mid charge. He had been only a few feet away from taking out the guy with the funny hair.

"Give it up, you green freak!" shouted the Asian guy. "You don't got a chance!" he said, firing his gun from behind the control panel.

"I'll show ya' chance, ya' bastard" Raph shouted back and did a backflip to avoid his blast.

"CRASH" the loud sound drew everyone's attention. It came from behind the door with the 'Keep Out' sign.

"Saima!" the turtle thought, feeling as though ice cold fingers gripped his stomach. He suddenly remembered that he didn't like running around with people who couldn't handle themselves in a fight.

"BOOM!" the control panel exploded, sending the Asian guy flying backwards. He crashed into the door Raph had knocked open earlier.

"BOOM! BANG! BOOM!" more explosions shook the walls. The defensive mechanisms seemed to be all blowing up. But Raphael wasted no time with the unexpected show. He punched the remaining goon in the face, ignoring the faint pain in his arm, and then leapt over the flames that were consuming the control panel.

"Saima!" he yelled, kicking the door with the 'Keep Out' sign. "Hey, where are you!?" he yelled again, his eyes scanning all the strange equipment in the room.

"Here!" the girl's voice answered. A few seconds later, she came into his view. She walked with a slight limp. "I don't think that was the power plug…" she said, rubbing her backside. Raphael gave her a confused look and he was about to question her when a mechanical voice blared through some speakers in the walls. He hadn't even noticed them before.

"Warning! System overload. Freezing sequence activated. Recommended course of action: evacuate. Warning! …" the voice continued to repeat its pre-programed message.

"Definitely not the power plug" Saima said, more to herself than to anybody else.

"I don't wanna' to know" grunted the ninja. "Come on, we need ta' get outta' here!" he told her. She nodded and tried to move forward, but her injured body made her lose her balance.

"Ouch!" she whispered, gritting her teeth. He rolled his eyes and before she could even register what was happening, he scooped her up on his back.

"Um… what are you doing?" she asked, her head spinning a little bit from the abrupt change of position.

"What does it look like I'm doin'?" He said, heading towards the corridor. "Savin' your skinny butt." He finished and he could swear that he heard her huff.

He made his way through the white hallways with the mechanical voice blaring in his ears. He was lucky enough to find the exit to the upper levels quite easily and from there he knew his way. There were no alarms on the upper levels.

They only encountered Purple Dragons once and Raphael quickly dispatched them, almost forgetting about the passenger he had on his shell.

"You don't have seatbelts, you know!?" she had shouted at him, but he had only chuckled. In a matter of minutes they were exiting through a back door that was usually left unguarded. Luckily for them, it was still so.

Once they reached the road, he let her off his back. She was obviously dizzy and barely standing on her own feet.

"Uuh… I remembered piggy-back rides being a lot more fun…." She grumbled, rubbing her sore body.

Before he could say anything, the now familiar sound of loading ray-gun filled their ears and Raph instantly jumped into attack position. But there was no threat in sight. Instead, they saw a bright light coming from the basement-level windows of the building. Moments later the sound stopped and a white vapor rushed out. It covered the area around the Purple Dragons' hideout and once it was gone, it left small patches of snow behind.

"Wow… weird" the girl said, eyeing the snow on the ground.

"Look who's talkin'" Raphael muttered, giving her a half annoyed, half amused look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You're wearing a t-shirt on your head…" he said, eyeing the makeshift mask. It was almost falling off her face, not that it had been particularly secure to begin with.

"Hey! I went into a criminal base, after you!" she said, pointing her finger at him. "Plus, don't want them knowing who I am and where I live. They might come after Nola!" at that, the ninja was conflicted between a face-palm or laughing. He settled for a chuckle.

"And all black?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. At that, she looked away.

"Works for Batman…" she grumbled, crossing her arms.

Just as he was about to poke a bit more fun at her, a series of rapid flashes caught their attention. Raphael quickly spun around to see a man in a biker suit putting away a camera. Before he could react, the guy was already staring his motorcycle. He sped off, leaving the ninja behind, shouting profanities at him.

"Come back here, ya' good for nothin' piece of shit!" the warrior yelled, but the biker paid him no mind.

"Ah, shell…", Raphael cursed again.


End file.
